Lifting tool



NOV. 14, 1933. R. O'CONNOR 1,934,876

LI FTING TOOL Filed May 11, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l I N V LjJN TOR. JEIMOWL 0 C'bzwvoz ATTORNEYS.

NOV. 14, 1933. Q'CONNQR 1,934,876

LIFTING TOOL Filed May 11, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INlfENTOR. PA YMOND L. 0 Cozvzvoza BY W I ATTORNEYS.

. axle andon further movement to raise the axle. The proper placing of the jack in many casesis' used in connection with a rear axle arrangement;

Patented Nov. 14, 1933 STj TFEs I TIN TOOL Raymond OConnOflBerkeIey, Calif; Application May 11, 1932. Serial 610,689 9 Claims. "(01. 254-13 3) time are first set on the ground surfaceunder-' neath the axle or other part to be lifted, whereupon'through some suitable mechanism the head of the jack is raised to make contact with the a rather difiicult task," particularly when the motor vehicle stands on a grade. Furthermore the hold of the jack onthe axle is precarious in many cases, and it has happened that opera ators engaged in repair work were seriously injured by the slipping of a jack. I

In the present invention it isproposedtoprovide an improved liftingtool or jack that may be easily applied to the axle of a vehicle or any other object, and-which at all times during use is firmly'connected to the axle so-that it cannot 'possibleslip; z V 1 r More particularly it is proposed to provide coacting means between the axleand theiack wherebythejackmay be suspended from the axle for initial engagement and made to contact the ground surface upon extension of the jack by conventional means, while further extension of the jack serves tofirst establish'lifting contact between. the jack'and the axle, and then a lifting movement of the axle.

tion will appear asthe specification proceeds.-

The preferred form of my invention is illus-.

trated'inthe accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 showsfav front view of a wheel-sup-i ,through a front axle havingmy device attached P thereto; only the upperportion or head ofthe jack being shown;

Figurefa detail viewin front. elevation ofthe head of my jack;

Figure- 5 a verticalsection taken along line 5-5 of F gure 4; v a

Figure 6 a rear view of thejack head;

Figure 7 a fragmentary vertical section through the jack head in engagement with front axle fastening means; I

Figure 8. a rear view of a fitting for my jack Figure'9 a vertical section 99 of Figure 8; and Figure 10 a top plan view taken along line Further objects and advantages of myxinven-f 0f the fitting at tached to" the differential housing of a motor vehicle. v I

While I have shown only the, preferred forms of my'invention I wish to have it understood that various changes ormodifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the inven? 'tion.

In its preferred form-my invention comprises a jack 1 of any suitableform provided with a hea'd 2 which is illustrated in detail in Figures '4, 5, and 6. The headcomprises abase 3 formed to provide. a substantially semi-circular bed or. lifting surface 4, and a guide plate 5 rises vertically from thebase infrontof the bed 4, the guide plate being formed in its upper portion with a circular hole 6 communicating with'a down '65 within the scope oftheclaims hereto attached wardly extending slot .7, the lower margin of which is rounded as at-8.- For" the purposes'of 'my invention, the circleof the bottom edge of the slotmight be concentricwith thebed 4 SQthat the bottom of the slot and the bed would cooperatein-carrying the load, but I preferably lengthen the slot-7 so that the center of its bottom edge indicated at 9 is somewhat below the center' 10' on WhiCh the bed plate is formed so' that all the actual lifting is, done by the bedplate. The upperedges-of the'bed are 'made to form shoulders 11 with-the guide plate. 1 1

I For proper use my liftingja'ck requires coaction of aspecially prepared member on, the axle or whatever object is to be lifted, and this part may be formed integrally with the axle, or may be an extra part made for easy attachment- .I prefer the latter method, and I show in mydrawings two attachments, onebeing made for the front axleaand the other for a conventional rear axle, it being understood, of course, that different shapes ofaxles will call for difierent forms of attachments. In Figures 2, 3 and 7 I show a front axle attachment adaptedfor cooperation with my lifting jack. This attachment comprises a .plate 12, and which therefore spaces the head .17

"from the frontplate. .The length of this heavier section 18 corresponds to the thickness of the plate 5 of the jack head. The two bolts 15 and .-16are held in place by means of nuts 19 and the front plate 12' is preferably formed with a boss 20 adjacent the opening '19,:this boss serving to compensate forthe conventional slightly inclined, position of thefront axle, the object of this boss beingto positionthe plate 12 in a vertical plane,

and more particularly to make certain that the bolt 16 is in a horizontal plane.

The front plate 12 is preferably made in the tapered form shown in Figure 2, and its-bottom edge 21 is rounded on the same radius as the bed 4 of the jack head so as to fit thereon in a manner shown in Figure 2. The side edges of the plate 12 are formed with shoulders 22 which, when the jack is in lifting position, are slightly spaced from the shoulders 11 of the jack head so as to allow of limited rocking movement of the plate l2 relative to the jack head. The center of the bolt hole 19 lies in the same vertical plane as the center of the rounded bottom 21 but is preferably arranged so that the face 21 makes contact with the bed 4 beforethe bolt reaches the bottom of the slot'i.

The general assembly about a front axle is shown in Figure 1, from which it appears that in use the jack is first suspended from the bolt 16, the head 17 0f the bolt passingthrough the hole 6 in the jack head, and the jack then being lowered so that the hole or eye 6 comes to rest on the widened portion of the bolt 18 in front of the plate 12, between the bolt head 17 andthe front plate. It will be readilyseen that this is a very easy operation, it being much simpler to merely suspend the jack from the button or bolt than to position the jack on the ground surface in the conventional manner. After the jack has thus been suspended from the bolt 16 the jack is extended by any suitable mechanismuntil the base of the jack strikes the ground surface. On further extension the head of the jack will travel upward, the slot 7 in the jack head allowing of such upward travel until the bottom of the plate 12 strikes the bed l of the jack head and is lifted thereby. I prefer to arrange the slot and bed in such a manner that the bed 4 does the actuallifting, while the slot or rather the plate 5 serves as a mere guide member, although it should be understood that by a slightly difierent construction the bolt may be ,made to carry part of the load. It would even. be possible to change the construction so as to make the bolt carry the entire load without departing from the spirit of the invention.

- It will be noted from Figure 1 that the attachment is fastened to the center of the front axle and that therefore both front wheels are lifted at the same time in perfectly balanced relation. The shoulders 11 and 12 allow of a certain amount of rocking motion between the attachment and the jack head, which is particularly important where the machine or automobile is' parked in an; inclined position, in which case the jackfirst lifts the lower one of the two wheels until it reaches the elevation of the second wheel, whereupon the two wheels are raised simultaneously and maintain their balance. 1 t For the rear axle a somewhat different attachment has to be used on account of the different shape. One well known car provides a cylindrical axle housing 23 with side plates 24 bolted thereto as at 25, and in that particular make I preferably use the fitting illustrated in Figures 3, 9 and 10, comprising a U-shaped member 26, the flanges 27 of which are made to fit over the rear axle housing and are formed with holes 28 by means of which the fitting be held in place through the bolts 25. The rear or body section 29 of the U-shaped member is held in vertical position by. means of aweb 30 fitting against the curved face of the cylindrical housing as shown in Figure 9. The rear member 29 hasa pin 31 projecting therefrom with a head 32, this pin and head corresponding to the bolt 16 of the front axle arrangement, and being adapted for engagement by the head of the jack.

I claim:

1 In combination, a liftable object having a pin projecting therefrom with a head on the pin in spaced relation to the object and a jack having an eye adapted to pass over the head for suspending the jack from the pin, the eye having a slot communicating therewith for allowing the lifting element of the jack to ride upward on the pin through a limited distance before exerting lifting effect.

2. A vehicle axle having a pin projecting therefrom in the central longitudinal plane of the Vehicle whereby both sides of the vehicle may be raised simultaneously in balanced relation.

3. In combination, a vehicle axle having a pin projecting horizontally therefrom, a jack having a head wth an eye therein by means of which it may be suspended from the pin, a slot communicating with the eye and allowing the head to travel upward on the pin and coacting surfaces on the head and the axle for takingthe load when the is lifted a certain distance.

4:. A jack for a liftable object having means for support'n" the same in spaced relation to a fixed the jack having a lifting head, means for suspending the head from the object with dom of upward movement of the head, and coacting faces on the object and the head for t king the load of the object when the head is lifted.

5. A jack for a liftable object having means for supporting the same in spaced relation to a fixed surface, the jack having a'lifting head, means for suspending thehead from the object with freedom of upwardmovement of the head,.and co cting faces on the object and the, head for tak ng the load of the object when the head is lifted, the coacting faces being rounded to allow or rocking motion of head.-

, 6. A jack for a liftable object having means for supporting the same in spaced relation to a fixed surface, the jack havinga lifting head, means for-'suspending'the headfrom the object with freedom of upward movement of the head, and

coacting faces on the object and the head for coacting lifting .faces on the objeot and the head shaped to allow of rocking motion of the object relative to the head, with means for preventing axial and tilting movement in an axial direction between the object and the head. v

8. A] lifting 'jack having. a lifting head with an eye therein whereby it may be suspended, and a slot extending from the eye a downward di rection; t

' 9. A lifting jack having a lifting head with an eye therein whereby it may be suspended and a slot extending from the eye in a downward direction, the head having a supporting face concentrio with the. bottom of the slot.-'

the object relative-to the 

